DC: Rise of the Kryptonian Tyrant

The battleship rode the wind and waves, slicing through the ocean and splashing white water in its wake.

Bardi stood at the bow, his hair tousled by the wind, his black trench coat flapping with a creak.

He gazed into the distance. At the highest point of Paradise Island, white spires stood tall—magnificent and majestic.

The Greek architectural style inherited from the Olympian gods had always been grand, solemn, and spectacular. Exquisitely carved, it displayed the supremacy of the gods without a hint of artistic elegance.

Diana stood beside him, her slender fingers tucking her hair behind her ear, her expression full of worry as she looked toward the rapidly approaching Paradise Island.

After this battle, it was unknown how many Amazons would remain.

At this moment, inside the palace hall of Paradise Island, arguments were already erupting.

"An Amazon is never a slave!"

"The gods will not abandon us!"

"To die in battle is an Amazon's honor!"

"Queen, General, you've fallen. You've abandoned your people and your faith."

"Princess Diana is being held hostage. We must not surrender in humiliation!"

"Even in death, we must uphold the dignity of the Amazons!"

"Amazons will not be bullied!"

Evia, one of Diana's friends, was tall and lean—though only lean compared to the average person. Her muscles were well-defined, her body fat extremely low, and she was a formidable fighter.

There were only a few in the Amazon ranks who could rival Diana in combat, and Evia was one of them.

However, she lacked Artemis' intelligence and strategic skill. What she had was the same fierce Amazonian blood and the belief that dying in battle was an honor.

Bang!

Hippolyta slammed her hand down on the armrest of the throne. The delicate carvings of the sun and moon cracked as a loud sound echoed through the hall.

"Do you want the Amazons to perish?"

Hippolyta's majestic face was contorted with fury as she roared.

"The Amazon warriors will live. The gods are watching and will protect us."

Evia's expression remained firm. She knelt on one knee before Hippolyta, then rose with resolve, her iron boots clanking fearlessly as she turned and left the hall.

Hippolyta's anger erupted. Veins bulged in her clenched fists. With a violent squeeze, the thick wooden handle of the throne shattered, splinters digging into her skin.

She had long realized that the ordinary Amazons did not understand the situation. Still, she hadn't expected over 70 percent of them to insist on facing the Barmulodi Legion head-on, clinging to their belief in the gods of Olympus.

Bardi's swift advance had caught her off guard. The planned actions had no time to be carried out, and they were already on the brink of a decisive battle.

Hippolyta's heart was filled with rage, helplessness, and sorrow. She collapsed into her throne, her expression bitter.

"The gods abandoned us long ago..."

She closed her eyes in pain.

Antiope, Artemis, and Phillipus stood below, all silent with grief. They had done all they could.

But the lower-ranking Amazons, who had clung to their beliefs for thousands of years, could not be swayed.

In the cage-like isolation of Paradise Island, they had lived day by day, sustained by that faith.

To ask them to abandon the gods was impossible.

If Paradise Island were to fall, it would be by the hands of these impulsive, battle-driven warriors.

...

As they neared Paradise Island, Diana's expression grew darker.

With her sharp eyesight, she had already seen beacon fires lit along the island's coastline—signals for battle. The shoreline was crowded with figures.

Almost all the Amazons opposed to surrender were gathered there, roughly 70 percent of the total force, ready for war.

Diana's heart trembled. Her mother had failed to stop them. The warriors' faith had reached the point of fanaticism. They were desperate to protect it.

Her heart leapt in alarm as she saw the faint smile on the corner of Bardi's lips.

The battleship surged forward. And then, the moment Diana feared arrived.

"Men are not allowed to set foot on Paradise Island!"

"Fire arrows!"

A leopard-like roar of a female warrior echoed across the sky.

Suddenly, along the coastline of Paradise Island, the sharp hum of bowstrings sounded in unison.

Arrows launched—swish, swish—forming a blackened sky. Dense dots flew through the air like locusts, a barrage of arrows surging from the Amazon coastline.

Among them were thousands of arrows charged with magic, glowing with strange fluctuations and cold light.

Bardi stood at the bow, his eyes sweeping over the sky full of arrows. His gaze shifted as he began observing Paradise Island with focus.

Paradise Island held a unique position.

In truth, the Amazons' ultimate duty was not merely to protect mankind. Paradise Island was a gate to the underworld, linked through time and space.

Beneath the island was a direct connection to the underworld, as depicted in various comics Bardi had read.

Bardi wasn't only here to claim the Amazons, but to examine the island's position and its ties to the Olympian gods.

Just as Bardi activated his enhanced vision to scan Paradise Island…

General Ott, standing behind him, furrowed his brows. His sharp gaze flashed, and he raised his right hand high.

The 20,000 soldiers behind Bardi instantly dispersed into the sky, taking flight like a peacock spreading its wings. Dense black silhouettes filled the air, and their eyes began to glow red.

Twenty thousand pairs of glowing red eyes aligned across the sky. A terrifying, scorching pressure radiated outward as though the space itself were being steamed.

"Stop!"

Diana's heart dropped. She stepped forward forcefully, as if walking on air, rushing straight toward the arrows.

"Stop!!"

In an instant, golden divine power surged across her body. Her eyes turned gold, and she let out a thunderous roar toward the sky.

The sound waves rippled through the air like a steel barrier. Arrows collided with the wave and shattered, bending and splintering mid-air. Like startled birds with broken wings, they dropped from the sky.

Thousands of enchanted arrows trembled in the air, then lost their force, sliding past Diana's sides and falling harmlessly.

Diana let out a small breath of relief. She had managed to prevent Bardi's legion from launching a counterattack.

At the same time, the 20,000 soldiers floating in the sky behind Bardi, under General Ott's command, gradually steadied their breaths and dimmed the glow in their eyes.

Had those blazing heat visions been unleashed, it would have been hard to say how many lower-tier Amazons would have died in an instant.

With the battle halted before it could begin, the soldiers retracted their heat vision. Diana was relieved, though her face remained filled with anger. She flew toward Paradise Island's coast.

Bardi frowned, glanced toward Paradise Island, and muttered in surprise, "Hmm?"

(To be continued.)

***

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